Published September 9, 2010

An exciting announcement today for anyone who waits for rides the bus: Real-time GPS tracking data is now available for all MBTA routes, serving 47 cities and towns.

That means app developers can write software to help commuters pinpoint the exact location of their next bus. The MBTA has dusted off an App Showcase page that lists 10 such programs.

To spare you the time and expense of trying them all, I will download, test and review each and every app — except, unfortunately, the Android apps. (You’ll have to tell me which ones you like.)

Get ready, get set…

____

Catch The Bus (iOS app, $0.99, iTunes)

Fast, simple interface. Choose your route, tap your stop, and a big number displays how many minutes you have to wait. The auto-refresh is nice, but I didn’t realize the feature existed at first because there is no way to tell it’s “live.” A map of each route is provided to help you identify the closest stop. This is handy, but you have to know your route first; an automatic “find the closest bus” feature would be stellar. Also, it would be useful (or maybe just cool) to see the exact location of your bus as a pin on the map.

Get the rest of my mini reviews after the jump. Or if you’re impatient, you can jump to the conclusion.

____

Excursion Boston (iOS app, $2.99, iTunes)

Pretty interface. The opening screen presents a “Closest Stops” button that prompts you for permission to get your location. Unfortunately, after about a minute of loading, I get an error message saying my stop can’t be found. Have tried three times. Boo. Will come back to this. Nice and speedy after restarting my phone. Displays color-coded icons to help identify your route at a glance. Search function is killer. Also provides a high-resolution subway map but, curiously, no bus maps.
____

MassTransit (iOS app, $3.99, iTunes)

This app feels beefier, with data for not only buses but subway trains, commuter trains and boats. (The MBTA only provides real-time tracking for buses.) The “Next” icon for the other services is misleading, since it appears identical to the icon for buses. Presumably, “Next Train: 35 Minutes” is based on schedule data and not actual location data. The “Full Schedule” is convenient and easy to navigate. The app also provides high-res maps for each bus route, but they must first be downloaded while online. Also offered is a “Transit Finder” that shows you nearby stops from all available services on a map. Nice! And finally, an “Alerts” screen with a refresh button tells you what’s wrong with the Green Line today.

____

Pocket MBTA (iOS app, $0.99, iTunes)

Right away this is my favorite of the bunch, and for some reason it’s not listed on the MBTA’s apps page. The user interface centers on a map, which makes the most sense to me for transit app. There’s also a list view that conveniently centers on the stop closest to you with a little blue dot. Love that the pushpin on the map is an icon of an actual MBTA street sign (though it can be a little hard to tap). Also, this is the only iPhone app to show the location of the buses (though they never seem to update when I hit refresh — is there a lag time?) Finally, the price is right!

____

Go To There (iOS app, free, iTunes)

Despite prompting me for my location at startup, I have to scroll through a long list of agencies to select MBTA. Then I have to wait several minutes for a list of routes to download and I can’t back out. It’s painful. I’m not going to wait any longer.

___

myTransit — Boston (iOS app, $0.99, iTunes)

Utilitarian, functional. Does not appear to support all bus routes, though. Be warned: Reviewers trash it in the App Store.

____

NextBus (website, free)

This is not a native app but a mobile-streamlined website. On my iPhone 3GS running Safari, the site is fast but lacks the high design of the iPhone apps. Amazingly, it’s the only service so far to show real-time bus locations on a map. It’s easy to jump directly to your stop if you have the ID number memorized. The site also supports location data for MIT transit, not just MBTA (as well as agencies in many other locales).

____

TrackTheT (website, free)

For some reason, a bug prevents me from advancing beyond the “Where are you heading?” screen. Looks promising, though. Will try again. Speedy and easy to navigate. It won’t detect your location automatically, though. The data is very “live,” seeming to refresh constantly — this inspires confidence in the weary traveler!

____

JustHopOn (standard text message rate)

This is a text-based service, not an app, so you don’t need a fancy smartphone to use it. Just text the route and stop number to (617) 299-6591 and the service fires back with details. If you don’t know the stop number, there’s a handy route finder available — but that’s not much use if you’re on a “dumb” phone. I texted 1 100 (for bus route No. 1, stop No. 100) and received this response:

Next bus toward Harvard Station via Mass. Ave is expected to arrive in: 5 mins. Followed by another bus in 13 mins.

I think this is most useful for people who get on at the same stop every day and have the number memorized. It’s faster than loading up an app. But you have to pay your carrier’s standard rate for text messages each time.

____

NextBus SMS (standard text message rate)

Mind-boggling complexity for a text-message service. (Just take a look at the instructions page.) Simple number, though: 41411. Annoyingly, the service sent two text messages in response to my query, which means I was charged twice. Moreover, the response is barely perceptible, whereas JustHopOn talks in plain English. Avoid this one.

____

Honorable Mention: MBTA Alerts (iOS ap, $0.99, iTunes)

This is not a tracking app but an awesome concept. Get push alerts (instant notifications) on your iPhone for any train or bus reporting problems — you can set it and forget it. Also innovative: A live “chat” for people using the app. For example:

DuncanDog99: Y would the 215 bus driver operator 6992 drive by a girl with a baby at a bus stop? Not cool guy not cool at all.

____

Honorable Mention: OpenMBTA (iOS app, free, iTunes)

This is not a tracking app but it’s free and open source, which means any developer could improve the app.

____

Update: Here are my conclusions…

Last week I wrote lightning reviews of all MBTA apps I could get my hands on. Here are my conclusions:

Pocket MBTA (iTunes) is my overall favorite iPhone app. At 99 cents, the price is right. The map-centric user interface makes abundant sense and the visuals are great.

In the category of mobile websites, I give the nod to TrackTheT for a very speedy, very “live” experience. For text-based services, JustHopOn is an easy choice over NextBus SMS, which is way too complicated—but also more powerful.

Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone with an Android device, so I couldn’t test those apps.

As some commenters have noted, the “holy grail” of MBTA apps does not exist yet. The app I have in mind would combine directions with live location data.

The MBTA website allows you to look up directions on its website — but does not make use of its own location data. The apps I tested are great for people who already know their route.

And a note of caution to buyers: There are more apps and websites out there that provide MBTA maps and schedule data but do not make use of the live location data. They come with descriptions like, “Find out when your bus will arrive!” Don’t be fooled. Make sure the app makes use of the live location data.

What transit apps do you use? Did I miss any?